Just saw the Charlotte game. Was only looking at Trice while watching the Ball Streams replay of the second half.

He's a slick little player. I think the thing that kept him from being drafted, besides his size, might have been his first step to the basket...at least that is what I saw while I watched the video. Have not seen him play enough, though. Larkin has more athletic ability, but Trice probably has the higher BB IQ, and I think this is something Jackson and Fisher are always looking for. Never felt he was going to do something stupid when he was out there.

You look at him and how he carries himself- even in the few minutes he played the other day- and you get the feeling that he thinks he belongs in the NBA. He was the leader on a college team that made it to the Final Four, and I get the same feeling about him as I get about Grant...that he is not the kind of player who is going to shy away from responsibility. He did things with a purpose and did not look like a fish out of water the other day, and that left an impression.

Should have had more assists, but guys either blew the shots or were fouled. He made some excellent passes for assists, though. Looked like he was getting the ball to teammates in good shooting position almost every time he made a pass, and for the most part it did not look like he was forcing anything.

Looks solid physically, with a good base, and I expect him to work out on his upper body a bit. Actually saw him boxing out Hansbrough for a rebound and he was successful. Seems to be able to stay in front of his opponent on the perimeter, too, and he was willing to fight through picks most of the time.

Did not look like he was forcing things, even though you see a lot of rookies doing this when they get some playing time.

Would like to see him get some time against better competition...not sure if this will be possible in this pre-season. I would love to see him guarding Thomas on Thursday, just to get an idea of how he looks against a guy who seems to be able to get by opposing PGs at will.

All in all a pleasant surprise.

This is the type of player the DL was made for, and hopefully he is on our DL team and has a chance to show what he can do. Not sure what kind of upside he has, but he's the kind of player I tend to root for, and I have the same feeling about him as I had about Galloway last year.

I will probably watch some Westchester games just to see him play if he ends up staying in our organization.

WaltLongmire wrote:Yeah...I know..oOnly a few minutes to go on, but I figure that he deserves a mention...

Just saw the Charlotte game. Was only looking at Trice while watching the Ball Streams replay of the second half.

He's a slick little player. I think the thing that kept him from being drafted, besides his size, might have been his first step to the basket...at least that is what I saw while I watched the video. Have not seen him play enough, though. Larkin has more athletic ability, but Trice probably has the higher BB IQ, and I think this is something Jackson and Fisher are always looking for. Never felt he was going to do something stupid when he was out there.

You look at him and how he carries himself- even in the few minutes he played the other day- and you get the feeling that he thinks he belongs in the NBA. He was the leader on a college team that made it to the Final Four, and I get the same feeling about him as I get about Grant...that he is not the kind of player who is going to shy away from responsibility. He did things with a purpose and did not look like a fish out of water the other day, and that left an impression.

Should have had more assists, but guys either blew the shots or were fouled. He made some excellent passes for assists, though. Looked like he was getting the ball to teammates in good shooting position almost every time he made a pass, and for the most part it did not look like he was forcing anything.

Looks solid physically, with a good base, and I expect him to work out on his upper body a bit. Actually saw him boxing out Hansbrough for a rebound and he was successful. Seems to be able to stay in front of his opponent on the perimeter, too, and he was willing to fight through picks most of the time.

Did not look like he was forcing things, even though you see a lot of rookies doing this when they get some playing time.

Would like to see him get some time against better competition...not sure if this will be possible in this pre-season. I would love to see him guarding Thomas on Thursday, just to get an idea of how he looks against a guy who seems to be able to get by opposing PGs at will.

All in all a pleasant surprise.

This is the type of player the DL was made for, and hopefully he is on our DL team and has a chance to show what he can do. Not sure what kind of upside he has, but he's the kind of player I tend to root for, and I have the same feeling about him as I had about Galloway last year.

I will probably watch some Westchester games just to see him play if he ends up staying in our organization.

Good assessment. I felt the same way. He was easily the surprise of the game for us down the stretch and definitely deserves more playing time off that performance. Played with the poise of a veteran that's been around for awhile. His passes were all great looks, right on the money. Makes me want to see more now...Keith Schlosser from the KnicksBlog had a nice write-up on him either yesterday or the day before although I disagree with him that Trice showed jitters. I don't think he did at all--that's what made his stint that much more impressive in fact. Also that it all came in 4th quarter crunch time with the game in the balance.

They won't do it but if it were up to me, I'd take Trice and Thanasis as my 14th and 15 guys. I'm just fearful that we could lose both if we're not careful. I know of no such rule that if they don't make the 15-man we could protect them in Westchester. I'm sure there would be a verbal agreement to play for Westchester, but that's only if nothing better came along and for both players, I could see some team coming along with a guaranteed offer to make an NBA team. TA has done the DL thing twice now, once for us last year after turning down other more lucrative offers to play overseas. His agents have indicated that if he doesn't officially make the team, he won't be going back to the DL...I think each guy is more worthy of a roster spot over Sasha V. and Lance Thomas to be perfectly honest. I get that Sasha has triangle experience and has played for/with Phil and Derek but he worries me if he's not hitting shots. What else does he bring? He's looking like a high volume/low % chucker right now. I think he's been subpar frankly..And Lance Thomas -- I dunno what they see in this guy, man. He hustles but he's a marginal NBA player at best. Show some damn conviction and let's go with these couple of higher potential impact youngsters instead (I also like that unloading Lance Thomas would create more PT for Cleanthony Early as well). The fact that Lance Thomas was given guaranteed money and what appears to be a guaranteed spot is baffling enough--that Fisher's gearing up to actually make him a part of his rotation is what's even more disturbing...I think Trice already brings more to the table than Calderon (who I'd look to slowly faze out) and would give us solid PG depth/solid backcourt depth overall. Our best backcourt look right now appears to be the 'G2' of Grant/Galloway (along with Afflalo who looked good in his return and should be ready for more mins. Thurs night) but Trice could give us another capable guard to rotate in and around those 3. As could TA at the 2G position. He's a guy I'm high on. I read somewhere someone criticizing his play against Charlotte but I loved how he looked the other night when he came in -- he immediately hassled a Bobcat inbounder on the baseline and had a nice block, both within the first few moments of being inserted. He also had a couple of nice passes to teammates. I think that with LeBron James as the man for the Knicks to confront and try to get past in this conference, you look to keep & develop a player like TA to match up against him. I get he hasn't shown the type of progress they wanted to see but I'm thinking big picture with him. A player like TA could wind up making a huge difference for us in a short series against the Cavs down the road. I know many see a worthless player in TA but I don't. I'm the other way with him--he could be a real secret weapon for us out on the wing. One big thing I really like is that he's not just a defender--I think he shows some real promise offensively.

I think the Knicks wind up keeping TA as the 15th man and roll the dice with Trice that once cut, he agrees to play for Westchester and that no one else picks him up. Hopefully that'll be the case but I don't feel 100% confident about that.

EnySpree wrote:I actually like how all the camp invites looked. I wish them luck. We might see them again but probably on other teams

I know its Berman, but this is the article about what Jackson did with Trice, Saunders, and Atkins:

Knicks add Michigan St. PG, exploit loophole to stash 2 more

The Knicks have found a way to stash players with their D-League team in Westchester while having them make more than the minor league’s max of $25,000.

The Knicks have agreed to terms on a partially guaranteed deal on former Michigan State point guard Travis Trice, according to a source, and announced Virginia power forward Darion Atkins and Wesley Saunders of Harvard have signed their deals. All three are undrafted rookies.

Atkins and Saunders agreed to terms in August but weren’t able to take their physicals until after Labor Day because the team’s full medical staff wasn’t available.

Trice, Atkins and Saunders are considered training-camp bodies who will be cut when the rosters are reduced to 15 before the regular season. But they all have small guarantees in the $50,000-$75,000 range, hence, they can agree to play in the D-League for Westchester, knowing they have been compensated. This does not technically skirt any D-League cap rules.

It’s a good ploy by team president Phil Jackson and general manager Steve Mills for players they want to develop.

Trice, who played for the Miami in summer league, survived a mysterious illness in 2012 that led to headaches and weight loss and was diagnosed as a brain infection. As a senior, he averaged 15.3 points and 5.1 assists for a Spartans team that reached the Final Four.

Atkins, at 6-foot-8 and 241 pounds, averaged 7.6 points and 6.0 rebounds over 23.9 minutes in 33 games as a senior at Virginia and was ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He wasn’t even invited to the Chicago draft combine.

The 6-foot-5 Saunders averaged 12.6 points as a Harvard senior shooting guard and was a three time All-Ivy First Team selection.

Not sure if Jackson was the first to figure this out...does not really matter. Not sure if they did the same thing with Summers.

I know that I, and number of other posters, have talked about the need to have a true "minor league" system for the NBA, where a team can have some control over players who they like, but feel need more development.

The D League is a good start, but there needs to be a more sophisticated system which will help teams develop younger players with some control over them, while also giving players the opportunity to move from team A to team B if they feel they are not being given an opportunity to move up with team A.

Baseball and Hockey have their minor leagues and college, and the NFL has college, if you continue to allow players to come into the league at 19, I can't see why you wouldn't have an NBA system for developing, and even educating, younger players who are not ready, or even HS players who choose not to go through the 1 and done farce we see in college ball.

Finestrg wrote:

WaltLongmire wrote:

EnySpree wrote:I actually like how all the camp invites looked. I wish them luck. We might see them again but probably on other teams

In the cases of Trice/Saunders/Atkins, it would seem that the Knicks should have control over them for at least this year.

I know its Berman, but this is the article about what Jackson did with Trice, Saunders, and Atkins:

Knicks add Michigan St. PG, exploit loophole to stash 2 more

The Knicks have found a way to stash players with their D-League team in Westchester while having them make more than the minor league’s max of $25,000.

The Knicks have agreed to terms on a partially guaranteed deal on former Michigan State point guard Travis Trice, according to a source, and announced Virginia power forward Darion Atkins and Wesley Saunders of Harvard have signed their deals. All three are undrafted rookies.

Atkins and Saunders agreed to terms in August but weren’t able to take their physicals until after Labor Day because the team’s full medical staff wasn’t available.

Trice, Atkins and Saunders are considered training-camp bodies who will be cut when the rosters are reduced to 15 before the regular season. But they all have small guarantees in the $50,000-$75,000 range, hence, they can agree to play in the D-League for Westchester, knowing they have been compensated. This does not technically skirt any D-League cap rules.

It’s a good ploy by team president Phil Jackson and general manager Steve Mills for players they want to develop.

Trice, who played for the Miami in summer league, survived a mysterious illness in 2012 that led to headaches and weight loss and was diagnosed as a brain infection. As a senior, he averaged 15.3 points and 5.1 assists for a Spartans team that reached the Final Four.

Atkins, at 6-foot-8 and 241 pounds, averaged 7.6 points and 6.0 rebounds over 23.9 minutes in 33 games as a senior at Virginia and was ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He wasn’t even invited to the Chicago draft combine.

The 6-foot-5 Saunders averaged 12.6 points as a Harvard senior shooting guard and was a three time All-Ivy First Team selection.

Not sure if Jackson was the first to figure this out...does not really matter. Not sure if they did the same thing with Summers.

I know that I, and number of other posters, have talked about the need to have a true "minor league" system for the NBA, where a team can have some control over players who they like, but feel need more development.

The D League is a good start, but there needs to be a more sophisticated system which will help teams develop younger players with some control over them, while also giving players the opportunity to move from team A to team B if they feel they are not being given an opportunity to move up with team A.

Baseball and Hockey have their minor leagues and college, and the NFL has college, if you continue to allow players to come into the league at 19, I can't see why you wouldn't have an NBA system for developing, and even educating, younger players who are not ready, or even HS players who choose not to go through the 1 and done farce we see in college ball.

What if a team came along and offered Trice 500k guaranteed to be a backup PG on a 15-man? Is he supposed to turn that down for $75-100k total to play for the Westchester Knicks? Now before you say that'll never happen--isn't that what happened with Mo Ndour? Cuban offered more than we could and he bolted for Dallas. Now I understand that came in SL/FA not at the end of training camp but it basically amounts to the same thing, no? I think what we've done is a good gesture but it doesn't seem as groundbreaking as Berman makes it out to be. Don't teams do stuff like this all the time? What's the typical going rate for extra training camp players, regardless if a team plans on signing them up for their DL team or not? Probably in that $50-75k range I would imagine...If we cut a guy like Trice I wouldn't expect him to turn down guaranteed money to make another NBA team. Or guaranteed money to go play in Europe for that matter. If he did, it would be a good gesture on his part. TA did that last year. I don't think we can 100% fully protect these players. There is some risk here, no? Please explain to me if I don't have this right.

The Berman article insinuates that we gave these guys more guaranteed money than is usually the case. That is about the only info I have to go on.

There would almost have to be a sort of gentleman's agreement, I suppose, although why would you offer a larger guaranteed amount if you did not think the player was going to stay with you for a season on your DL team?

Not sure if there is a kind of tacit agreement amongst teams at times, and they lay off certain players. Galloway was doing OK on our DL team and not other team saw fit to take a player who eventually made the 2nd Team All-Rookie squad

Don't know what kind of agreement Phil had with NDour. Had we signed Williams by that time?

We will see. Hopefully he gets to play at Westchester this season.